However, I do see a path. Miami is going to have to awake to the reality of moving Jimmy Buttler to acquire the necessary picks and young players for a Portland deal. This would allow them to at least keep Adabayo and build from there. Ah, but this is not so fun for Miami you say? Yes but it is the reality they are in. I don't expect Portland to be under any pressure to give Lillard away for any deal that hurts the franchise and sets them back. It's just business.

Rookie wrote:I say the answer is a 100% chance of no. The players and picks required are just not there. Miami's package is not even worth considering for a team wanting to rebuild and giving up a HOF Allstar player. Even if the Nets will help by taking on Hero, it's still not even worth discussing for Portland. Even if Lillard sits out I don't see how that can harm Portland, call it a stealth tank. Time is going to be on Portland's side. I don't think even the players union has a leg to stand on with Lillard demanding only the Miami Heat and Goodwin, his agent, telling teams if they trade for Lillard, he won't show up. Even League President Silver can't support such a position as much of a box office draw Lillard's star power has.

However, I do see a path. Miami is going to have to awake to the reality of moving Jimmy Buttler to acquire the necessary picks and young players for a Portland deal. This would allow them to at least keep Adabayo and build from there. Ah, but this is not so fun for Miami you say? Yes but it is the reality they are in. I don't expect Portland to be under any pressure to give Lillard away for any deal that hurts the franchise and sets them back. It's just business.

Honestly, I hope you are right. I think he ends up in San Antonio next to Wemby. Give Wemby some breathing room and some easy buckets. Extra assists. Its best for everyone if he goes to play in San Antonio and helps Wemby become a star.

These players get obscene, generational wealth to play ball. Maybe total free agency- like at will employment for the rest of us- would be good for player movement- but I think the union wants to spread the wealth a bit, as opposed to a player like LeBron being able to get $100M a year to play for a team, which he would with no cap and salary structure.

League parity- at least how it has been structured, I think has worked well.

Dame traded the ability to move anywhere for the obscene wealth he is going to continue to accrue. Maybe he could agree to a buyout? I mean, could he let Portland and agree to take a $1 instead?

franco12 wrote:I likewise hope that he can't force his way to Miami without Riley and the Heat having to give up fair assets.

These players get obscene, generational wealth to play ball. Maybe total free agency- like at will employment for the rest of us- would be good for player movement- but I think the union wants to spread the wealth a bit, as opposed to a player like LeBron being able to get $100M a year to play for a team, which he would with no cap and salary structure.

League parity- at least how it has been structured, I think has worked well.

Dame traded the ability to move anywhere for the obscene wealth he is going to continue to accrue. Maybe he could agree to a buyout? I mean, could he let Portland and agree to take a $1 instead?

What about the owners who don't even play but make a huge profit when they sell? MJ paid 275 million for Hornets and then resold for a 2 billion profit. I'd argue that Dame had more to do with that price increase than Jordan. Dame has done far more to raise the value of the league than anything Jordan did as owner. Plotkin isn't paying 3 billion for the Hornets; he's paying to get into the NBA.

Paul Allen died in 2018 and his will specifically called for the trailblazers to be sold and the money used for charity. Instead his sister has willfully refused to carry out her duties and the franchise is in limbo as a result. Selling the team with or without Dame is pretty big for franchise value. Who knows what her plan is.

Barry Jackson: Per source, Portland has remained disinclined to engage Heat in serious trade discussions on Lillard. Blazers acting disinterested about dealing him here. One would think Blazers would get serious about this at some point, but they’re still not engaging Miami in negotiations

franco12 wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:

franco12 wrote:I likewise hope that he can't force his way to Miami without Riley and the Heat having to give up fair assets.

These players get obscene, generational wealth to play ball. Maybe total free agency- like at will employment for the rest of us- would be good for player movement- but I think the union wants to spread the wealth a bit, as opposed to a player like LeBron being able to get $100M a year to play for a team, which he would with no cap and salary structure.

League parity- at least how it has been structured, I think has worked well.

Dame traded the ability to move anywhere for the obscene wealth he is going to continue to accrue. Maybe he could agree to a buyout? I mean, could he let Portland and agree to take a $1 instead?

What about the owners who don't even play but make a huge profit when they sell? MJ paid 275 million for Hornets and then resold for a 2 billion profit. I'd argue that Dame had more to do with that price increase than Jordan. Dame has done far more to raise the value of the league than anything Jordan did as owner. Plotkin isn't paying 3 billion for the Hornets; he's paying to get into the NBA.

Paul Allen died in 2018 and his will specifically called for the trailblazers to be sold and the money used for charity. Instead his sister has willfully refused to carry out her duties and the franchise is in limbo as a result. Selling the team with or without Dame is pretty big for franchise value. Who knows what her plan is.

I agree with you! And it is why I think the players should jettison the owners and create a players league. They could raise debt to finance the needed transition and the owners would be left with nothing.

But- in the current situation, if you take long term security, you are giving up the option to play somewhere else.

Wasn't there a movie about this recently? The big holdback us our tribal loyalty as fans which is no transferable. The only way it would work is if through collective action the players got together with private equity for a leveraged buy out. I think I read recently about a proposed law that whenever ownership wants to sell out, workers should get government funding to enact a buy out. The problem is, all changes in ownership require board approval and as soon as one team did it, the rest of the league would quickly follow suit. Owners would never approve it.

Now, a public/ private partnership- where municipalities could co- own franchises might be a more popular way to enact real change. Portland would be an ideal candidate for that kind of experiment.

SergioNYK wrote:I still fully expect Dame to end up with the cHeat. Whiney and modern NBA players always get their way. Only hope would be for Adam Silver to veto any and every trade to Miami. That would really send these baby players a message you signed a contract and you're in essence an asset. You do not get to choose where the hell you go with you are under contract! Being a FA is a different thing. Go sign with any team you like for whatever money you can get. Otherwise, STFU and play!

Reality is players do want to move but there is way to do it properly and perhaps with grace.
Vince Carter leaving Toronto as he did was not cool, nor has Harden always handled it well PUBLICALLY.
But I agree you sign a contract your bound to it. If a player has leverage and wishes to relocate thats OK but the team gets compensated.
I don't blame Dame for trying and his agent is doing his job. But with it comes the public fall out and if he wants to protect his image he needs to temper it down a bit.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Nalod wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:I still fully expect Dame to end up with the cHeat. Whiney and modern NBA players always get their way. Only hope would be for Adam Silver to veto any and every trade to Miami. That would really send these baby players a message you signed a contract and you're in essence an asset. You do not get to choose where the hell you go with you are under contract! Being a FA is a different thing. Go sign with any team you like for whatever money you can get. Otherwise, STFU and play!

Reality is players do want to move but there is way to do it properly and perhaps with grace.
Vince Carter leaving Toronto as he did was not cool, nor has Harden always handled it well PUBLICALLY.
But I agree you sign a contract your bound to it. If a player has leverage and wishes to relocate thats OK but the team gets compensated.
I don't blame Dame for trying and his agent is doing his job. But with it comes the public fall out and if he wants to protect his image he needs to temper it down a bit.

Isn't this similar to the Aaron Rodgers situation last year. No one had a problem with Aaron wanting out after they essentially drafted his replacement instead getting more immediate help. Is the issue that Dame is angling for one team or that the team is Miami? Vince pretty much dogged his way out of Toronto and that left a bad taste. I don't think what Dame has done so far rises to that level. His career is nearing it's end and he wants to compete. I don't think he gives a phuck about his image at this point. Now the money on the other hand...

I mean, for starters, Rodgers is a nutbag and his legacy isn't really impacted by a trade demand to one of the worst teams in the league, specifically where that team had assets it could trade for a 39 year old QB. The NFL pretty much supports old QBs changing teams to win championships with teams that didn't otherwise seem ready (See Manning and Brady).

Lillard built his legacy on loyalty and has a strong reputation as a team player. So, the reputational cost is just much higher because his demand to leave his team is only to the team that just made the Finals and doesn't really have the assets to pay what most of us would deem fair market value for his trade. So, he is trying to trade the reputation for a lower return for his original team. And he might get his wish, but it costs him his reputation. The only issue I see is that by limiting his team to 1 team that made the finals last year and doesn't really have assets to pay fair compensation AND having his agent taint to the pool, he used up that good guy reputation pretty quick. Maybe he got bad advice. Maybe he got emotional. But he slammed a lot of doors to try and get what he wanted and it might not work. So, now he is stuck in Portland for the time being and it feels like he is one step away from eating a tub of vaseline. Not sure there is another player that ripped their brand apart so fast.

I think they ultimately ended up with ~ Poole, Shamet, 2030 1st, 4 1st round swaps and 7 seconds - not awful IMO.

Key to Dame trade is what can Portland get for Herro and can they also get C Martin because I think they’ll get whatever picks Heat can give.
I’m a Herro fan - Portland should fight to get more than say a lotto protected 1 for him or just keep him - he’s a bucket.